Dr. Katz laughed. “I don’t know who you are, but you don’t come onto my property and threaten me. This state has a stand-your-ground law, and you’re trespassing.” The doc pulled a gun on him, but Ronin was a quicker shot. He grabbed his pistol from his holster and shot Dr. Katz.
The alpha went down, and his gun fell out of his hand. Ronin walked around the desk, pistol raised, and kicked the gun from Dr. Katz’s reach.
“The next time I shoot, it’ll be to kill.”
“Is that a threat?” The doctor sneered, while his hand tried to stop the bleeding from his shoulder.
“Not a threat. Simply a promise. If you don’t want to end up in jail, then I advise you to start running. Oops… I don’t think that will be possible.” Ronin laughed and stood up to grab his cuffs, and then locked the doctor to the radiator in his office, and zip tied his legs too. He left the bag of drugs and a tape recorder with the conversation he just had where they could easily be found.
With his gun in hand, he left the building, the sound of the doctor’s voice following him, hollering curses. Once he got back to his vehicle, he called 911.
“911. What’s your emergency?” The dispatcher asked.
“Yeah, I heard gunshots at an abandoned building, and there’s reason to believe there’s been some illegal activity going on inside there. I have the address.” He rattled off the address to the dispatcher.
“An officer will be out there to check it out,” she said.
“Thank you!” He disconnected the call before she could ask any other questions and backed out of the parking spot. He needed to get away from there as quickly as he could, mostly because he didn’t want to be held up. Yet, he was glad to know that Dr. Katz wouldn’t be able to operate his illegal pharmacy again. At least that was taken care of. Even though he had a feeling there were more to take his place.
* * *
The closer hegot to home, the faster he drove. Ronin couldn’t wait to get back to his mate, even though Ollie would be pissed when he heard Ronin went out on his own without any of the guys as backup.
A strange sensation wash over him. “Oliver!” he gasped.
His bond screamed at him to check in with his mate because something was wrong. He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed up the cell they’d picked up for Oliver on one of their shopping trips.
After an agonizing minute, Oliver answered. “Hey, babe.”
“Are you alright?” Ronin blurted out.
“Yes. Why? Why wouldn’t I be?” Oliver asked.
Ronin breathed a sigh of relief and tried to catch his breath. It was overwhelming how scared he’d been. Even during his worst gunfight when he and his team had been pinned down with exfil ten minutes away, he hadn’t been that scared.
“I don’t know. I just had a feeling, but apparently, the feeling was off.”
“Apparently so.” Oliver laughed. “Now who’s the worrywart?”
“I know, I know.” Ronin sighed.
There was a long pause. “Did you get what you were hoping to find?” Ollie asked.
Ronin nodded, still trying to steady his breath. “Yeah. I’m really sorry about earlier. You were right. We are partners. I shouldn’t tell you what to do, but I will always do everything in my power to make sure you’re safe.”
“I know, and I love you for it.” Ollie sighed.
“I found the doctor that was in charge of those drugs. I shot him.” Ronin wasn’t sure why he said it.
“Did you kill him?” Oliver didn’t sound horrified, simply curious.
“No. I didn’t kill him. I called the cops after leaving him on the floor to bleed to death, but I didn’t hit any vital organs or major arteries… at least I tried not to.”
“But you got him,” Oliver said. “That is amazing news. He won’t be able to get those drugs to anyone else. That’s what matters most. I can’t wait for you to get home.”
“No, he won’t,” Ronin said. He was relieved talking to Ollie, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was dreadfully wrong. “Hey… are the doors locked?”
“Huh?” Oliver asked. “I think so… why?”
